Journey’s End Vineyards has launched The Journey’s End Foundation, the latest community project from the Stellenbosch based winery.
Set up as an NGO, Rollo Gabb, MD, and his team have established the Foundation to tackle hunger and extreme poverty in the Helderberg Region of Stellenbosch – largely as a result of COVID-19.
The Journey’s End Foundation has set up a network of Soup Kitchens in the Helderberg Region and has initially committed to providing 8000 meals per week for 52 weeks, with a target of achieving 10 000 meals per week by the end of October 2020.
“The South African economy continues to be very badly affected by COVID-19, with the Western Cape in particular hit by zero tourism and close to zero hospitality. This coupled with a recent ban on domestic wine sales has severely impacted the wine industry, and a 10pm curfew is killing the restaurant sector, leading to a very significant increase in unemployment. With very little government support, many families are now unable to bring any food to the table and starvation in the Cape is a real risk. It has been reported that some 20 000 people in Stellenbosch alone are at risk of hunger,” says Rollo Gabb
“We completed the set-up of the Journey’s End Foundation earlier this month realising we needed to move fast. Journey’s End has committed funds to provide food for just over 400 000 meals through a network of nine Soup Kitchens over the coming 12 months. The Journey’s End team is working to develop this network to facilitate 10 000 meals per week by the end of October,” Gabb adds.
For many years, Journey’s End has placed big focus on supporting the winery’s local community, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village. As well as providing employment at the winery, the team works closely with community heads to channel resources into a number of development programmes which included the building of a new school hall for the local school in Sir Lowry’s Pass village. This is where many of the local children received their only meal of the day. With schools currently shut these children are going hungry.
In setting up the Foundation, they have worked closely with Hettie Orffer, CEO and Developer of the ‘Beat the Bully’ programme – another programme funded exclusively by Journeys End, which focuses on eradicating bullying in the Cape townships through education and intervention.
Picture: Supplied/Journey’s End